Passover Nation is our Passover edition of Parsha Nation. This guide can enrich both your youth program and personal seder.

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1 Dear Youth Directors, Passover Nation is our Passover edition of Parsha Nation. This guide can enrich both your youth program and personal seder. Passover s focus is educating children. The entire seder is constructed Kday shyishalo hatinokot - to get children to ask many more than the 4 Questions. I challenge you to inspire them to seek meaningful answers. Community, Family, and Legacy are three core ingredients used to inspire children. Community & Family- These two are the backbone of the Passover experience. Freedom is meaningless without being able to share it with those who are closest to us. Even in slavery we were together and leaned on the people we love. Let s teach our children that together in numbers we are a great nation. Legacy- We must never forget where we came from. Legacy is an important part in supplying confidence and giving our children a sense of their place in our Jewish history. Understanding our past is the key to unlocking our future potential. The National Council of Young Israel has taken these three core values to heart. Wishing you, your family and your community a Chag Kasher V Sameach, Ari Matityahu Assistant Director Synagogue Services

2 Program Guide Breakdown Theme- This Year our Passover curriculum will focus on a theme; Slavery to Freedom; Avdut L cheirut. The highlight of the Passover seder is to tell over the story of how we were freed from slavery. It is important for our youth to understand how our freedom is a privilege we sometimes take for granted today. Passover Roundup- You will have the opportunity to roundup the holiday in two or three paragraphs. By giving over Passover in a short and simple way, our youth will be able to grasp the holiday as a whole and to get them to think globally and conceptually. Passover Questions- No Passover Holiday program is complete without a list of questions. These questions allow everyone at your table, shul group or seder the opportunity to win fun prizes while increasing their holiday knowledge. Questions vary from basic understanding of story line to challenging source-based material. The answers are provided as well. Tefillah Treasure- Many youth directors have asked for help when it comes to teaching tefillah to children. This is a problem that not only shuls are dealing with. Schools, camps, and youth organizations are having trouble developing creative ideas to help children understand tefillah. Over the course of the year, this section will highlight one aspect of davening by providing both the Hebrew and English text, and one explanatory idea. The older the age group, the more we delve into the idea. This section is designed to help group participants follow the flow of tefillah while understanding what they are saying. Group Activity- Now the fun begins! We start off with a GOAL. Each game has a purpose. The leaders should familiarize themselves with the goal before implementing the game. Discussion Portion- After the game is over and the participants are settled down, the youth leaders should facilitate a discussion. The guidelines for this discussion are broken down into easy to use instructions. Youth leaders should review the discussion topics and goals before the start of morning groups. Story- We will include a story that addresses a modern day concern with lesson taken from the Passover Holiday Jewish Leader of the Week- In keeping with our theme, we provide a Jewish Leader from modern Jewish history with highlighted information. This will allow group participants to expand their knowledge of history and to learn how they can be a Jewish leader in today s society. Teen Packet- This packet is filled with stories, riddles, points to ponder, and more. Seder Leader Tip- Each section has some great tips for leaders and how they should conduct that section.

3 Shabbat Morning Groups Lesson Plan Time Duration Activity Notes 5 min min 5 min 5 min 10 min 2 min 30 min 10 min Registration/ Introduction Davening Introduction to Holiday Passover Roundup Passover Questions Understanding the Goal Activities Follow Up Discussion Welcome parents and children in to the group room. Depending on your group size and level. Refer to Handout for ideas Prep participants for Passover questions. Prizes and awards should also be given out if participants answer correctly Leaders should start prepping for Passover Activity Your choice of two games to play Refer to materials 20 min 5 min 5-10 min 4 min 4 min 5 min Total Time: Free Game Play Story Discussion Jewish Leader of Passover Tefillah Treasures Parent Pick up/dismissal Groups can break for free game play or continue their own programing. Assemble in a circle and have participants read sections of the story out loud. Refer to handout Refer to handout Refer to Handout Parents pick up their children. 2 hours & 30 min of programing!

4 Leader Tip: This is a great holiday so don t be shy to over explain. This is the kid s holiday. Share as much knowledge as you can to entertain and explain. KARPAS Karpas is a vegetable (other than bitter herbs) such as celery, parsley, or boiled potato. It must be a vegetable on which we make the blessing, Borei Pri Ha'Adamah. Passover is the spring festival where we celebrate the birth of our nation -- and these vegetables are a symbol of rebirth and rejuvenation. MARROR & CHAZERET These are the bitter herbs which symbolize the lot of the Hebrew slaves whose lives were embittered by the hard labor. Many people use horseradish for Marror and Romaine lettuce for Chazeret. CHAROSET Charoset reminds us of the hard Jewish labor performed with bricks and mortar. Charoset is a pasty mixture of nuts, dates, apples, wine and cinnamon. The Talmud says this serves as an "antiseptic" to dilute the harsh effects of the Marror. ZERO'AH During the times of the Temple in Jerusalem, the Korbon Pesach (Pascal Lamb) was brought to the Temple on the eve of Passover. It was roasted, and was the last thing eaten at the Seder meal. To commemorate this offering, we place a roasted chicken bone with a little meat remaining. In Temple times, every Jew was "registered" to eat the Korbon Pesach with his particular group. The Talmud says that the bigger the group, the better. This is a source for having large Seder gatherings! BEITZAH A second offering, called the Chagigah, was brought to the Temple and eaten as the main course of the Seder meal. Today, instead of a second piece of meat, we use a roasted egg -- which is traditionally a symbol of mourning -- to remind us of the destruction of the Temple. The Talmud points out that every year, the first day of Passover falls out on the same day of the week as Tisha B'Av, the day of mourning for the destruction of the Temple. Finally, notice how each of four mitzvot we perform at the Seder are all done over a full cup of wine: 1. Kiddush 2. Maggid (telling the Exodus story) 3. Birkat Hamazon (Grace After Meals) 4. Conclusion of Hallel

5 Passover is the time when each Jew embarks on a personal journey from slavery to freedom. In order to guide us in our quest, the Sages carefully wrote a book outlining 15 steps to freedom. It's called the Haggadah. The Sages say that Passover occurs on the 15th of Nissan (the Jewish month), to teach us that just as the moon waxes for 15 days, so too our growth must be in 15 gradual steps. Think of these as 15 pieces of the Passover puzzle. Assemble them all and you've got freedom! 1. KADESH To begin the Seder, we make Kiddush and sanctify the day. The word "kiddush" means special and unique. The first step to personal freedom is to recognize that you are special. You have a distinct combination of talents, skills and experiences that qualifies you to make a unique contribution to the world. In Egypt, the Jews were forced to build the store-cities of Pitom and Ramses. Why was this tortuous labor? Because these cities rested on swamp-land, and every time the Jews built one level, it sunk into the ground. Slavery is a life with no accomplishment, no achievement, and no meaning. On Passover, we begin our journey toward personal freedom by asking: What is humanity's biggest need? What can I contribute most profoundly to nurture and protect the world? And... what am I going to do about it? 2. URCHATZ "Why do we wash our hands at this point in this Seder?" the Talmud asks. "Because it is an unusual activity which prompts the children to ask questions." The very name Haggadah means "telling," for the goal of the Seder is to arouse curious questions, and satisfying answers. We've all felt the sense of awe upon meeting a fascinating person, or reading an enlightening new book. But as adults we may become enslaved by the idea that it's more sophisticated to "know it all." Passover teaches that to be truly free we must approach life with child-like wonderment. "Who is the wise person?" asks the Talmud. "The one who learns from everyone." Passover is the holiday of springtime, joy and renewal. Nissan is the first month. And the very word for "month," chodesh, has the same letters as the word for "new," chadash. The Seder is filled with unusual activities. Be curious. Be a student of life. Be free. 3. KARPAS We take a green vegetable and bless God for creating fruits from the ground. Gratitude is liberating. "Who is the rich person?" asks the Talmud. "The one who's satisfied with what he's got." This appreciation comes through focusing on details. For example, to get this green vegetable to our table, it had to be planted, harvested, packed, shipped, unloaded, unpacked, displayed, and rung up by a cashier -- before we even bring it home! If we truly appreciate all we have, we'll be constantly proclaiming: "Life is a wonderful gift!" On a deeper level, we dip the vegetable in salt water to let us know that even those things which appear bitter -- a lost job or a broken relationship -- are ultimately for the best. Gratitude is an attitude. It requires constant effort and attention. A Jew strives to say 100 blessings every day. The reward is emancipation. 4. YACHATZ

6 We break the middle matzah, and put it aside to serve later as the Afikomen. Why do we break the matzah now if we don't need it until later? Because a key to freedom is to anticipate the future and make it real. The definition of maturity is the ability to trade a lower pleasure now for a higher pleasure later. Children lack this perspective and demand instant gratification. (Why not eat 10 candies now? Because you'll get a stomach-ache later!) The challenge of adulthood is training ourselves to look at the long-term consequences. (Why not intermarry now that I'm in love? Because the future portends family tension, confusion for children, and estrangement from one's roots.) "Who is the wise man?" asks the Talmud. "The one who sees the future." We break the middle Matzah, not for now, but for later. Because true freedom is a long-term proposition. 5. MAGGID The Sages tell us that the unique ability given to humanity is the power of speech. Speech is the tool of building and construction. God used it to create the world ("And God said: Let there be light."), and the Kabbalists used it to create the golem. On Seder night, we use our gift of speech for the central part of the Haggadah: telling the Passover story. The very word "Pesach" is a contraction of the words Peh Sach, meaning "the mouth speaks." The Hebrew name for Pharaoh, on the other hand, is a combination of Peh Rah, meaning "the bad mouth." For just as speech has the power to build, it also has the power to destroy. Gossip and slander drive apart families and communities. On Passover, we use speech to "build" humanity -- by communicating, connecting, and encouraging each other. We stay up long into the night, relating the story of our exodus, tasting and sharing the joy of freedom. 6. RACHTZAH One aspect of freedom is the ability to elevate ourselves above the lowest common denominator on the street. We've all felt the sensory assault of billboards, gratuitous talk-radio, immodest fashions, and violence on TV. At the Seder we wash our hands as a preparatory step before the Matzah, in order to carefully consider what it is we're about to eat. One who is concerned with spiritual and physical health is discriminating about all forms of consumption: which movies to watch, which friends to spend time with, and what standards of business ethics to uphold. The streets are filled with a multitude of options. But we must not consume indiscriminately. We "wash our hands" to cleanse and distance ourselves from unhealthy influences. Freedom is the ability to say: "I choose not to partake." 7. MOTZI We make the "hamotzi" blessing to thank God for "bringing forth bread from the ground." Which is odd because God brings wheat from the ground -- and man turns it into bread! In truth, God gives us two gifts: 1) the raw materials, and 2) the tools for transforming it into life. Today, technology has pulled us away from seeing the beauty of God's creation. We fine-tune our environment with air-conditioning, synthetic foods, cosmetic surgery, and genetic engineering. Mankind is perilously close to "playing God." But in truth, man cannot create anything perfect; man can only tune into God's ultimate perfection. Which is more awesome to behold -- the world's biggest super-computer, or the human brain? Between your two ears are 10 billion nerve cells -- a communication system 100 times larger than the entire communications system on Earth. When we make "hamotzi," we hold the Matzah with all 10 fingers reminding us that while human hands produced this food, it is yet another gift from the Creator and Sustainer of all life. 8. MATZAH Both bread and Matzah are flour mixed with water, then kneaded into a dough and baked. What is the difference between them? The difference is that bread dough has sat unattended for 18 minutes and becomes leavened (bread). The Matzah which we eat on Passover has been baked quickly.

7 The spelling of "Matzah" is similar to "mitzvah:" Just as we shouldn't delay in the making of Matzah, so too we shouldn't procrastinate in performing a mitzvah. The lesson of Matzah is to seize the moment. Delaying even one second can mean the difference between an opportunity gained or lost. Why 18 minutes? Because the number 18 is the numerical value of "Chai," meaning "life." They say that "baseball is a game of inches." Actually, life itself is a game of seconds. The Talmud tells of people who had sunk to the depths of humanity, and then in one moment of insight reversed their lives for all eternity. More than just the difference between Matzah and bread, the Seder teaches us the difference between life and death. 9. MARROR At the Seder we say: "In every generation they rise against us to annihilate us." The Egyptians broke our backs and our spirits. The Romans destroyed the Second Temple and rivers of Jewish blood flowed. And so it was in every generation: Crusades, Inquisitions, Pogroms, Holocaust, Arab terrorism. Intense and irrational violence has stalked our people to every corner of the globe. Why the hatred? The Talmud says the Hebrew word for "hatred" (sinah) is related to the word "Sinai." At Mount Sinai, the Jewish people acquired the legacy of morality and justice -- a message that evil cannot tolerate. We taught the world "to beat their swords into plowshares." We taught the world "to love your neighbor as yourself." We taught the world equality before justice, and that admiration belongs not to the rich and powerful -- but to the good, the wise, and the kind. Hitler said: "The Jews have inflicted two wounds on mankind -- circumcision on the body, and conscience on the soul." How right he was and how much more work we have to do. Throughout the generations, the forces of darkness have sought to extinguish our flame. But the Jews have somehow prevailed. We have God's promise that we will be the eternal nation. For without our message, the world would revert to utter chaos. At the Seder, we eat the bitter herbs -- in combination with Matzah -- to underscore that God is present not only during our periods of freedom (symbolized by the Matzah), but during our bitter periods of exile as well. He will never forsake us. 10. KORECH The Hillel Sandwich is "bricks-and-mortar:" broken Matzah held together by bitter herbs and charoset. The Matzah was once whole. So too, the Jewish people can become crushed and divisive. But we are held together by our common links to Torah and our shared historical experiences. The Talmud says that as Jews in Egypt, we were redeemed only because of our unity. We were unified in our commitment to each other and to the future of our people. Weeks later at Mount Sinai, we stood together and accepted the Torah with one heart and one mind. Today, we are fighting amongst ourselves under the watchful eye of the world media. It is both embarrassing and discouraging. The biggest threat to Jewish survival may be from within. Our only response is to stand loudly and proclaim: Every Jew is a Jew. Period. The inclusion of the "Wicked Son" in the Seder expresses our conviction that no Jew is ever irretrievably lost. We are all one family, responsible to love and care for one another. The Matzah may be broken, but it can be restored. It is this Hillel Sandwich which has traditionally symbolized our commitment to glue the Jewish nation back together. On the merit of unity we were redeemed from Egypt, and it is on that merit that we shall be redeemed once again. 11. SHULCHAN ORECH When we think of attaining levels of holiness, it seems strange that one of the mitzvots of Seder night should be eating a festive meal. That is because the Jewish attitude toward our physical drives and material needs is quite different from that of other religions. Our religious leaders are neither celibate nor do they meditate all day on a mountaintop. Rather than negating or denying the physical, Judaism stresses the importance of feasting and marital relations.

8 God wants it that way. The proof is that instead of creating all foods bland (or in the form of "protein-pills"), God concocted a variety of flavors and textures -- orange, strawberry, chocolate, banana and mango. Why? Because God wants His people to have pleasure! Adam and Eve were put into the Garden of Eden -- the Garden of Pleasure. The Talmud says that one of the first questions a person is asked when they get up to Heaven is: "Did you enjoy all the fruits of the world?" On Seder night, we eat the festive meal to teach us that true freedom is the ability to sanctify life, not flee from it. 12. TZAFUN The last thing we eat all night is the Afikoman. (Matzah for dessert?! And I thought we were having macaroons!) We eat this final piece of Matzah -- not because we are hungry -- but because we are commanded. Physical pleasure, though an integral part of our lives, sometimes gives way to a higher value. To illustrate this concept, the Talmud compares a person to a "horse and rider." The purpose of a horse is to take you where you want to go; but left to its own devices, the horse will get lazy and may even throw off the rider. That's why the rider has to be in control of making all the decisions. So too, our bodies are the vehicles for moving us through life; they require care and attention -- but not to the extent of assuming a pre-eminent position. There is a difference between eating healthy, and flying to Europe in order to dine on authentic Italian food. A person dominated by material strivings is anything but free. Judaism says: control the physical so it does not control you. Become a master of yourself. It is this ability to rise above our physical selves that demarcates the difference between humans and animals. The story is told of the Baal Shem Tov looking at his neighbor eating dinner -- and instead of a person, seeing the form of an ox. The man was solely in pursuit of physical pleasure, no different than an animal. Freedom is the ability to put our soul in control. "Who is the strong person?" asks the Talmud. "The one who can subdue his personal inclination." At the Seder, we hide the Afikomen, search, find -- and win a prize! The same is true with our spiritual yearning to do the right thing. Although it might be buried inside, we can search for it, find it -- and the prize is pure freedom. 13. BARECH Social pressure is one thing that holds us back from taking charge and doing the right thing. Barech, the "Grace After Meals" was instituted by Abraham 4000 years ago. Abraham would invite idolatrous wayfarers into his tent for a hearty meal, and then tell them the price of admission is to bless God. They thought he was crazy! Nobody believed in God! Abraham was called Ha'Ivri ("the Hebrew"), meaning "the one who stands on the other side." He was a social outcast and a lone voice in the wilderness. Would we have been able to stand up to that kind of social pressure? Do we speak out today against the proliferation of media, sex and violence? Against drugs and crime in our streets? Slavery is a pre-occupation with self-image and social status. ("What will they think of me if I voice my objection? How will I bear the pain of isolation and rejection?") The Hebrew word for Egypt is Mitzrayim -- from the root meitzar, which means narrow and constricted. When we left Egypt, we became free of the societal forces which restrict us to a narrow path of fashion, image and ideas. Freedom means doing the right thing even when it may not be socially popular. I have to live with my own conscience. The reality is liberating. 14. HALLEL As the feeling of freedom inebriates our souls (helped along by the four cups of wine!), we sing aloud in joy. When the Jews came out of Egypt and crossed the Red Sea they broke out in song (Exodus chapter 15). When we see the upending of evil, the Egyptians drowning at the sea, we are instinctively grateful to the One who orchestrated the turnaround! God delivers us from slavery unto freedom -- and we are amazed at the beauty and swiftness of it all. The Jews in Egypt had sunk to the 49th level of spiritual impurity, and only when they hit rock-bottom did they turn to God and cry out. It was at that moment that they were redeemed. Redemption can be as quick as the blink of an

9 eye. Our Egyptian experience began with Joseph sitting in the dungeon prison -- and rising to the position of Prime Minister in the span of one day! The Seder is the only one of the 613 mitzvot that is performed specifically at night, for on Passover, we turn the darkness into light. With "Hallel," we abandon all intellectual posits, and experience the emotional joy of freedom. Song is the expression of an excited soul. It is the way to break out of oneself and reach for freedom. 15. NIRTZAH We conclude our Seder with the prayer, "Next Year in Jerusalem." Every synagogue in the world faces Jerusalem. It is the focus of our hopes and aspirations -- not merely in a geographic sense, but in a conceptual sense as well. The Talmud says creation began in Jerusalem, and the world radiated outward from this spot. Medieval maps show Jerusalem at the epicenter of Asia, Europe, and Africa. The world flows into this place, and all of life's forces resonate there. From Jerusalem, the whole world is cast into perspective. The name Jerusalem means "city of peace." Peace, shalom, is more than the absence of conflict; it is the seamless harmony of humanity genuinely embracing a common vision. Jerusalem is a vision of God in our lives, a metaphor of a perfected world. Jerusalem gives us hope to achieve what we as a people must do, to sanctify this world. In Egypt, we hadn't yet absorbed this lesson: we were too burnt out from hard work (Exodus 6:9) and had become immersed in the spiritual abyss of Egyptian society. When we finally were redeemed, it happened so quickly and hastily that even then we were unable to grasp its full significance. What this means is that year after year, each successful Seder adds meaning to the original events, and brings us closer to the final redemption. As the Seder draws to a close, we sense the process of redemption is under way. We shout aloud: "Next Year in Jerusalem!" We're on our way back home. Rabbi Shimon Apisdorf The Hebrew word seder means order, or arrangement. The Passover Seder is comprised of 15 sequential steps, and thus it is quite fitting that the word seder is used to portray the gist of the evening's proceedings. Shortcuts are convenient. They save time, effort, and sometimes even money. They can also be quite illusory. Sure, you can figure out an ingenious back-alley route to sneak by rush-hour traffic, or curl up with a single volume containing three-page summaries of everything from Shakespeare to Fulghum. But don't try it in life. Not with your children, not with your spouse, and certainly not with yourself. If you want self-awareness, personal growth, deeper relationships, and a life of integrity -- sorry, no shortcuts allowed. Only seder, only order will do. Deeper living just doesn't flourish in the land of quick fixes. No child ever reaches adulthood without paying a visit to adolescence and no adult achieves inner maturation without first embarking on an orderly, if daring, course of human development.

10 QUESTIONS 1. What do we get rid of before Pesach? 2. What is Chametz? 3. What do we eat on Pesach? 4. Why does a firstborn fast on erev Pesach? 5. What is the book we use to guide us through the Seder called? 6. What is the last piece of matzah eaten during the Seder called? 7. How many makkos did Hashem smite the Egyptians with? 8. How many cups do we drink at the Seder? 9. Why do we eat maror on Pesach? 10. Why is Pesach called Zman Cheruseinu? 11. What are the intermediate days of Pesach called? 1. Chametz ANSWERS 2. Any of the five grains mixed with water and cooked or baked long enough to rise or expand. 3. Matzah 4. To commemorate his having been spared from makas bechoros, in which every firstborn male of mitzrayim was killed. 5. The Haggadah 6. The Afikoman 7. Ten 8. Four 9. Maror reminds us of the bitter lives the Bnei Yisrael had in Mitzrayim. 10. Zman Cheruseinu means the time of our freedom. 11. Chol Hamoed

11 GOAL: 1. Teach the kids a little bit about what being a slave is like. 2. Have fun trying to steal the afikoman! ACTIVITY: Game 1- Pharoh Says Play the classic game of Simon Says, but instead play it with Paroh, instead of Simon. One player is designated as "Paroh," and the other players must do whatever Paroh says, as long as the phrase "Paroh says" comes before the command. If Paroh does not say "Paroh says" before the command, players are not supposed to follow the command. If a player does follow a command without a "Paroh Says," that player is out of the game. Game 2- Steal the Afikoman Split up the group into two teams and have them line up on opposite sides of the room. Give each player a number, each group should have a one, a two, etc. Place the afikoman (some sort of object the kids can grab) in the center of the playing area. The group leader calls out a number and the kids with that number have to run and pick up the afikooman. The person who grabs the afikoman first has to try and run back to their team s side without being tagged by the player on the other team. If they make it across without getting tagged, their team gets the point. If they do get tagged, the tagger team gets the point. DISCUSSION: Playing Pharoh Says was basically what the Jews went through in Mitzrayim, just a lot less fun. Pharoh would always tell them what to do and the Jews would always have to listen to every single thing he would say. If they didn t listen, then they would get out or get punished. It s not fun having to do what someone who isn t nice tells us to do. We should always be respectful to our friends and not push them around like Paroh did to the Jews. To the tune of: O my darling Said the father to his children, "At the seder you will dine" "You will eat your fill of matza, You will drink four cups of wine." Now this father had no daughters, but his sons they numbered four. One was wise and one was wicked, one was simple and a bore. And the fourth was sweet and winsome, he was young and he was small, While his brothers asked the questions, He could scarcely speak at all. Said the wise son to his father, "Could you please explain the laws, Of the customs of the seder, could you please explain the cause?"

12 And the father proudly answered, "Every man himself must see, In every age and generation as if he himself were freed." Then the wicked son said wickedly, "What does all this mean to you?" And the father's voice was bitter as his grief and anger grew. "If yourself you don't consider as a son of Israel, Then for you this has no meaning, you could be a slave as well." Then the simple son said simply, "What is this?" and quietly, The good father told his offspring, "We were freed from slavery." And the youngest son was silent For he was not very bold. But his eyes grew wide with wonder as the Pesach tale was told. Now dear children heed the lesson and remember ever more. The good father and his children and his sons that numbered four. Moshe Rabbeinu Moshe was one of, if not our greatest leader in history. Hashem chose him to be the leader of the Jewish people and take Bnei Yisrael out of mitzrayim. Moshe not only gave and taught the Torah to Bnei Yisrael, but he also served as an inspiration and prophet to help connect the Jews to Hashem as closely as possible. Moshe was very very humble, the most humble person to ever live. He had a lisp and didn t think he was great enough to be the leader of the Jewish people. That s exactly what a leader is. It s someone who doesn t think he so great and lives their life being the best person they can possibly be. We can learn from Moshe to always love our fellow Jews and believe that they are just as incredible as anyone else. We should also try and recognize what are friends are good at and appreciate and learn from their great qualities.

13 On the first 2 days of Pesach we say the full Hallel during morning services at the synagogue. 'Hallel' means 'priase' and is the name for a group of psalms we sing to praise God. During chol ha'mo'ed (the middle days of Pesach) we say only 'half Hallel' (a shortened version of the Hallel service with fewer songs) because these days are not as joyous as the first two days. On the 7th and 8th day of Pesach we still say only half Hallel, but for a different reason. Normally, we would say the full Hallel on these days as the final two days of Pesach are yom tov and joyous occasions. We are happy on these days and remember how we escaped slavery in Egypt and thank God for it, but we also temper our happiness because these days are also the anniversary of when the Egyptians drowned in the Red Sea. Although they were treating the Jews badly, they were also God's creatures and it is sad whenever any of God's creatures dies. So we temper (moderate) our happiness on these days and sing only half Hallel instead of the full Hallel.

14 QUESTIONS 1. What is the Shabbos before Pesach called? 2. When is the first day of Pesach? 3. What is the berachah made when searching for chametz? 4. How does eating matzah remind us of yetzias mitzrayim? 5. Why is the first night of Pesach called Leil Shimurim? 6. What does the word Pesach mean? 7. What does the word Seder mean? 8. What are the fifteen stages of the Seder? 9. When do we begin counting Sefiras Haoemer? 10. How should we feel during the seder? ANSWERS 1. Shabbos Hagadol 2. The fifteenth of Nissan 3. Al biur chametz 4. The Bnei Yisrael were in the middle of baking bread when they were told to leave mitzrayim in a hurry. Their bread did not have enough time to rise and become chametz. 5. Hashem watched and protected the Bnei Yisrael while the geulah took place. 6. Pesach means that Hashem passed over the homes of Bnei Yisrael in which the mitzvah of karbon Pesach was being fulfilled during makas bechoros. 7. Seder means order. 8. Kadesh, Orchatz, Karpas, Yachatz, Magid, Rachtzah, Motzei, Matzah, Maror, Korech, Shulchan Orech, Tzafun, Borech, Halel, Nirtzah 9. The second night of Pesach 10. As if we left Egypt today

15 GOAL: To discuss with the kids different aspects of being slaves in Mitzrayim and what we now must do now that we re free. ACTIVITY: Game 1: Pepsi Cola Make a line out of everyone s shoes. Assign different commands like Pepsi - Jump to right side of line, Cola - jump to left, 7-Up - jumping jack, Orange Pop - one leg on each side, etc. Feel free to come up with your own commands as well. If a kid gets it wrong they re out! Game 2: Give it Give each kid 4 candies (can be different object if candies will distract them) PART A- Tell the kids they must now respond to tasks given to the person to the right of them in the circle. The group leader should address random kids in the circle asking them to do something, if they do it/ the person to the right of them doesn t do it that person who made the mistake must give back a candy to the group leader. (Example- Shmulik is sitting next to Ohad and I say Ohad stand up, Shmulik must stand up). PART B- Approach each kid and yell out a three letter word. The kid has 5 seconds to call out a word that starts with each of those letters. (Example- RAT rooster, awesome, teeth!) Mistake- give back a candy! PART C- Still in circle, approach kid, if you say Shlaff Laff they have to respond back with their name. If you say their name they have to respond with Shlaff Laff. Try to confuse them by calling their name to the wrong person/going really fast. PART D- Human Bop-It! Assign beat and hand motions like Bop it - clap hands together and says pshhh, Flick it - everyone flicks and says boing, Twist it everyone cranks their hands and goes ehhh, Spin it everyone spins in a circle and goes wooooh. Point to kids and call one out, they must do the correct motion on beat- if not give back candy! Once a kid runs out of candy, announce/ask if any of the other kids would give that kid a candy so that s/he can keep playing. Let the festivities continue!

16 DISCUSSION: Pepsi Cola was representative of us in Mitzrayim- we had to listen to commands from Egyptians and if we failed, we were punished. But the second set of games is us after we leave Mitzrayim- we are one united nation that help each other out in times of need. We earn privileges but must give them back if we misuse them, and ultimately we work together to reach our ultimate goals. Four candies represent the 4 cups of wine we drink at the Seder to represent 4 languages of redemption- Hotzeiti- I took you out, Hitzalti- I saved you, Gaʼalti- I redeemed you, Lakachti- I took you out. BUT thereʼs a fifth one that we have to remember (represented by Eliyahuʼs cup)- HEVEITI- I brought you to Israel! Moshe Rabbeinu LEADER TIP: LEADER TIP: What does humility mean? Is it possible to be TOO humble? How do you know if you re humble or not? Moshe was one of, if not our greatest leader in history. Hashem chose him to be the leader of the Jewish people and take Bnei Yisrael out of mitzrayim. Moshe not only gave and taught the Torah to Bnei Yisrael, but he also served as an inspiration and prophet to help connect the Jews to Hashem as closely as possible. Moshe was very very humble, the most humble person to ever live. He had a lisp and didn t think he was great enough to be the leader of the Jewish people. That s exactly what a leader is. It s someone who doesn t think he so great and lives their life being the best person they can possibly be. We can learn from Moshe to always love our fellow Jews and believe that they are just as incredible as anyone else. We should also try and recognize what are friends are good at and appreciate and learn from their great qualities. Also, Moshe Rabbeinu was chosen by Hashem to be the one to give over and teach the Torah to Bnei Yisrael. According to the Midrash, Hashem sees that Moshe does not try to make everyone happy, because he knows that is impossible. Instead, Moshe seeks justice, which means doing what s right, even if that means that a few individuals will be negatively affected. Thus, another important leadership quality of Moshe is justice. A leader does not necessarily have to worry that each and every

17 person will enjoy the most favorable conditions. Rather, a leader must be concerned with the public good, while taking each individual s welfare into consideration. On the first 2 days of Pesach we say the full Hallel during morning services at the synagogue. 'Hallel' means 'priase' and is the name for a group of psalms we sing to praise God. During chol ha'mo'ed (the middle days of Pesach) we say only 'half Hallel' (a shortened version of the Hallel service with fewer songs) because these days are not as joyous as the first two days. On the 7th and 8th day of Pesach we still say only half Hallel, but for a different reason. Normally, we would say the full Hallel on these days as the final two days of Pesach are yom tov and joyous occasions. We are happy on these days and remember how we escaped slavery in Egypt and thank God for it, but we also temper our happiness because these days are also the anniversary of when the Egyptians drowned in the Red Sea. Although they were treating the Jews badly, they were also God's creatures and it is sad whenever any of God's creatures dies. So we temper (moderate) our happiness on these days and sing only half Hallel instead of the full Hallel.

18 QUESTIONS 1. What is the Shabbos before Pesach called? 2. When is the first day of Pesach? 3. What is the berachah made when searching for chametz? 4. How does eating matzah remind us of yetzias mitzrayim? 5. Why is the first night of Pesach called Leil Shimurim? 6. What does the word Pesach mean? 7. What does the word Seder mean? 8. What are the fifteen stages of the Seder? 9. When do we begin counting Sefiras Haoemer? 10. How should we feel during the seder? 11. What is the minimum number of fluid ounces that we must drink per cup? 12. How many minutes does it take for dough to sit, before baking, to become chametz? 13. How many times does the word Moshe appear in the Haggadah? 14. Name three other names for Pesach 15. From which tribe was Moshe? 16. Where did the Jews live in Egypt? 17. When do we start davening for tal and stop saying mashiv ha ruach u morid ha geshem? 18. How old was Yocheved when she gave birth to Moshe? 19. What happened to Paroh;s daughter after the Jews left Egypt? 20. How many days did the plague of blood last? ANSWERS 1. Shabbos Hagadol 2. The fifteenth of Nissan 3. Al biur chametz 4. The Bnei Yisrael were in the middle of baking bread when they were told to leave mitzrayim in a hurry. Their bread did not have enough time to rise and become chametz. 5. Hashem watched and protected the Bnei Yisrael while the geulah took place.

19 6. Pesach means that Hashem passed over the homes of Bnei Yisrael in which the mitzvah of karbon Pesach was being fulfilled during makas bechoros. 7. Seder means order. 8. Kadesh, Orchatz, Karpas, Yachatz, Magid, Rachtzah, Motzei, Matzah, Maror, Korech, Shulchan Orech, Tzafun, Borech, Halel, Nirtzah 9. The second night of Pesach 10. As if we left Egypt today ounces minutes 13. Once 14. Chag Ha Aviv, Chag Ha Matzot, Zman Cheiruteinu 15. Levi 16. Goshen 17. First day of Pesach She converted 7 days GOAL: The kids should understand that real freedom doesn t mean doing whatever you want and having no physical limits. The real freedom is about controlling yourself in a way that makes your soul and spirit free. ACTIVITY: 1. Pick four kids to act out the following characters: (give out the added papers) a. Hi! I m Zach and I m the freest man in the entire world. Do you know why? Cause I do exactly what I want. I want to sleep until 2:00in the afternoon I just do. If I want to watch 10 movies a day- I do so. I am the one to choose what I m doing; no one cares about what I do, and I don t care about what anyone has to say. I m the master of my life. b. Hello! My name is Sam and I m in jail for the last ten years. I was sentenced for life in jail because I fought the corrupt ruling systems in my country. Most of the day I spend alone in my cell, isolated and kept under constant supervision by armed guards. I have time to read and think and plan my plans. No. It s not the life I dreamt about, but I don t regret anything I did in my life. I know I can look back and be sure I did everything I can to make this world and my homeland a better place.

20 c. Shalom! My name is Ahron and I live in Mea- Shearim- a neighborhood in Jerusalem. (In case you don t know- it s is a very religious neighborhood.) I live a life of torah- I wake up in the morning, go to my Yeshiva, learn torah for the whole day, and Daven three times a day. I find it great to run my life- each and every second of it according to my beliefs and what I feel is the right way. I m a free man! d. Hi! I m Jeff, and I ve got everything a man could possibly dream of. I could get anything I want with my money, and no one will tell me no. I live in an amazing house the biggest you can imagine. It has an indoor and outdoor pool, the newest Sony play station video games from all kinds, and the latest equipment from every kind. I even have around my house a tall brick wall with armed guards that wouldn t let anyone in. I am a free man! After every man, ask the kids to think if he s free or not. 2. Put the characters names in four corners of the room and ask the kids to go to the corner where it says the name of the character they think is the freest. 3. Have a short discussion. Help bringing arguments for each side. You can do it 4. Tell the story of Nathan Sharansky: Nathan Sharansky is a Jew living now in Israel. Around twenty years ago he was put in the Russian prison and sent to Siberia for 8 years in crime of wanting to go to Israel and learning and teaching Hebrew. (In these days Russia was still USSR and didn t let people out) he sat in jail in terrible conditions and didn t give in to the Russian prisoners in any way. He insisted on keeping his spirit free. After fighting for many years he was free at last. He was traded with an American spy. He was walking toward his wife and his life after so long and suddenly he stopped. He lied on the snow in front of all the media and refused to continue until the Russians will give him back his Tehilim book they took away from him when he first came to jail. After a few minutes when he got his Tehilim back, the Russians told him to walk straight to the other side. Sharansky got up and zigzagged his way to the other side to show the Russians he will not be controlled by them. Now that is a free man! - Being free means to be free of spirit; to have to right to choose to let your neshama do what it wants to do DISCUSSION: What does it have to do with Pesach? Pesach is the greatest celebration of Bnei Yisrael becoming a free nation. But yet soon after leaving the slavery of Egypt, the nation receives the Torah. How do the 'rules' of the Torah fit in with the nation being free? The answer is that they became free in order for them to be Gods slaves- and yet they re free- because freedom means to listen to your soul and realize what we are really meant to be doing.

21 Moshe Rabbeinu Moshe was one of, if not our greatest leader in history. Hashem chose him to be the leader of the Jewish people and take Bnei Yisrael out of mitzrayim. Moshe not only gave and taught the Torah to Bnei Yisrael, but he also served as an inspiration and prophet to help connect the Jews to Hashem as closely as possible. Moshe was very very humble, the most humble person to ever live. He had a lisp and didn t think he was great enough to be the leader of the Jewish people. That s exactly what a leader is. It s someone who doesn t think he so great and lives their life being the best person they can possibly be. We can learn from Moshe to always love our fellow Jews and believe that they are just as incredible as anyone else. We should also try and recognize what are friends are good at and appreciate and learn from their great qualities. Also, Moshe Rabbeinu was chosen by Hashem to be the one to give over and teach the Torah to Bnei Yisrael. According to the Midrash, Hashem sees that Moshe does not try to make everyone happy, because he knows that is impossible. Instead, Moshe seeks justice, which means doing what s right, even if that means that a few individuals will be negatively affected. Thus, another important leadership quality of Moshe is justice. A leader does not necessarily have to worry that each and every person will enjoy the most favorable conditions. Rather, a leader must be concerned with the public good, while taking each individual s welfare into consideration. Moshe s greatness lay in the fact that even though his personal interests were not aligned with helping others in the way that he did, he helped them nonetheless. He LEADER TIP: LEADER TIP: What does humility mean? Is it possible to be TOO humble? How do you know if you re humble or not? cared, and he shouldn t have. He cared about the welfare of a Jewish slave, and he shouldn t have. He cared about the comfort of some Midianite girls, and he shouldn t have. Why should he have cared? He was a prince. He was living in comfort. He had every desire fulfilled. Why should he have cared about these strangers he was passing in the street? Why should he have cared so much to have committed a capital crime, have a death warrant put on his head and force himself into exile? He cared, and he shouldn t have. That s Moshe s greatness. It was because of his privileged upbringing

22 and his distance from his Jewish brethren that his greatness was proven. Why did he help them? Not because he was in danger. Not because of his bitterness against the Egyptians. He helped them because he was sensitive to the pain of every human being. Their pain was his pain, and he was willing to do anything and sacrifice anything to bring them comfort. God looked at this kid and said, He s my man. That s why he was chosen to lead the Jewish People. Not because he was mystic; not because he was well spoken; not because he was a saint or a scholar. Because he cared On the first 2 days of Pesach we say the full Hallel during morning services at the synagogue. 'Hallel' means 'priase' and is the name for a group of psalms we sing to praise God. During chol ha'mo'ed (the middle days of Pesach) we say only 'half Hallel' (a shortened version of the Hallel service with fewer songs) because these days are not as joyous as the first two days. On the 7th and 8th day of Pesach we still say only half Hallel, but for a different reason. Normally, we would say the full Hallel on these days as the final two days of Pesach are yom tov and joyous occasions. We are happy on these days and remember how we escaped slavery in Egypt and thank God for it, but we also temper our happiness because these days are also the anniversary of when the Egyptians drowned in the Red Sea. Although they were treating the Jews badly, they were also God's creatures and it is sad whenever any of God's creatures dies. So we temper (moderate) our happiness on these days and sing only half Hallel instead of the full Hallel.

23 April 16, 1921 The Founding of Ha-Po el Ha-Mizrachi This Week in Jewish History HA-PO'EL HA-MIZRACHI, religious pioneering and labor movement in Israel. Religious pioneers who settled in Israel in banded together and in April 1922 and founded Ha-Po'el ha-mizrachi, whose program stated that it "aspires to build the land according to the Torah and tradition and on the basis of labor, to create a material and spiritual basis for its members, strengthen religious feeling among the workers, and enable them to live as religious workers." The new framework was a product of the Third Aliyah, which included many young people marked by their religious consciousness. They were pioneers and workers who viewed settling in Israel as a mitzvah, but did not find a place in the existing labor community, despite the fact that socially they belonged to it. They opposed the prevalent view among workers in the 1920s that regarded religion as obsolete and adherence to the mitzvot as an obstacle to the building of the land according to socialist principles. The ideology of the new religious labor group was developed for the most part by Shemuel Ḥayyim Landau, Isaiah Shapira, Nehemiah Aminoaḥ, Isaiah Bernstein, Shelomo Zalman Shragai, and Shimon Geshuri. It was called Torah va-avodah (Torah and Labor), after the saying: "The world stands on three things: Torah, divine service (avodah literally, work), and deeds of loving-kindness" (Avot 1:2). The sources of this ideology also included ideas from Polish Hasidism and from the system of "Torah with Derekh Ereẓ" of Samson Raphael Hirsch

24 TRIVIA QUESTION OF THE WEEK Who headed Etzel in 1943? your answers to along with your NAME and AGE for a chance to win AWESOME PRIZES! Each correct answer will enter your name into a raffle that will happen once a month. Behatzlacha! Find For more info please feel free to contact us at sammys@youngisrael.org Blood Frogs Lice Wild Animals Pestilence Boils Hail Locusts Darkness First Born THIS JUST IN! The human heart creates enough pressure when it pumps out to the body to squirt blood 30 feet. Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour. A person cannot taste food unless it is mixed with saliva. For example, if strong-tasting substance like salt is placed on a dry tongue, the taste buds will not be able to taste it. As soon as a drop of saliva is added and the salt is dissolved, however, a definite taste sensation results. This is true for all foods. Try it!